By
Tiffany Vail
When
Elizabeth Waters decided to preach against a possible U.S. military
strike against Iraq, she knew that many of her parishioners would not
agree with her stand. But she didn’t fully foresee the response she
would get.
Many of the people who normally would wait in line after the service
to shake her hand didn’t. Others came, but would not meet her eyes.
No one praised her for the sermon. Only one person even acknowledged
what she had said, responding: “that was a strong statement.”
“This is the farthest out I’ve ever gone, but there is no question I
had to do this,” said Waters, pastor of the United Church in Pelham.
“My goal is not to convince them, it is to make a stand and have them
consider it.”
Waters
was careful in how she framed her message, stating “I do not mean to
claim religious authority at being absolutely right in my position or
that you should believe what I believe … Because we are a covenantal
church, we are asked to take seriously other people’s points of view.
To listen and consider them.”
How
to respond to President George W. Bush’s push for the use of military
force in Iraq is causing divide across the United Church of Christ.
A statement opposing the war released by the national collegium of officers,
and signed by 30 Conference ministers, has been debated and criticized
on Discussion Forums at www.ucc.org.
A resolution opposing the expansion of the war on terrorism beyond Afghanistan
brought lengthy debate at the Massachusetts Conference’s Annual Meeting
in June – and passed by a 70 to 30 percent vote.
Clergy
are responding to the opposing opinions in a variety of ways. Some,
like Waters, have decided to preach on it. Others have not been as direct.
Jeffrey
Larsen, pastor of the Congregational Church in South Dartmouth, remembers
churches splitting over the Vietnam issue. He doesn’t want to see the
same thing happen now.
“I
remember at the time that these issues were very divisive. It became
such a split that neither side was talking or listening to one another.
I believe its possible to do something a little different this time,”
he said.
So
Larsen recently invited people who wanted to talk about the issue to
stay after worship and share their feelings. About 20 people came.
“The
conversation had the potential to get heated at several points, but
I would remind people that we were there to hear each other, and to
listen with respect,” he said. “At the end, the only decision made was
that we need to have more dialogue sessions.”
Larsen said he intentionally did not state his own views before the
gathering, although he planned to in the near future.
“I really wanted them to feel free to share their opinions and not be
in the spot of countering me,” he said.
Don Remick, pastor of the First Church in Hanover, has taken a similar
approach, choosing to encourage dialogue without divulging his own feelings.
On a recent Sunday, he preached on the history of separation of church
and state, and discussed the tradition of Christians being involved
in public issues.
He invited people to stay and share their thoughts and feelings about
Iraq after worship that day. About a dozen people came.
“The folks who came said that while they had opportunities to talk one
on one about the issue, they had not had a chance to reflect on it as
a part of a community,” he said. “When you’re in the church, and you
end with prayer, that lends a different atmosphere.”
“I tried to be a facilitator,” he said. “At that gathering we advocated
advocacy, but not a particular opinion. We said that if you faithfully
feel called to make a statement, then please be in touch with your representatives.”
Some pastors have chosen to make their views known – but not from the
pulpit.
Martha Woodworth Whitehead, pastor of the Trinity Church in Gloucester,
took part in an anti-war protest outside a GOP fundraiser attended by
President Bush. She was quoted in a Boston Herald article about the
event. But in an effort not to put her parishioners on the defensive,
she has not preached specifically against the war from the pulpit.
“I have preached that peace is a byproduct of strength, not weakness,”
she said “I don’t want to be in anyone’s face. I’d rather broach the
subject gently. Let them come to their own conclusions over the dinner
table, or talking to me in my study, or at Bible study.”
Some clergy have not only found themselves at odds with their congregations
over the issue; some have found themselves in disagreement with one
another as well.
At a recent gathering of Berkshire Association clergy, someone suggested
that the group issue a statement opposing the war. Some wanted to act
quickly; others wanted time to discuss the issue thoroughly. Some did
not want to be put on the spot or to force one another to choose sides.
“Clergy are really feeling pressured and uptight and unclear on what
they should and shouldn’t be doing,” said John Wightman, a retired pastor
who moderated the Berkshire gathering and attended a similar interfaith
gathering where the same discussion took place.
“A lot feel caught between what they perceive to be the attitude of
the denomination – most of their respective national bodies are generally
opposed to the war – and the real misgivings they encounter about that
position when they talk to people in their churches,” he said.
Like Larsen, the conversations about Iraq bring Wightman back to the
days of the Vietnam War, when he was a minister who actively protested
the war even as his conservative parishioners, especially in the early
years, supported it.
“Those were not happy years for me,” he said. “How could I be true to
my own convictions – the war, simply, was wrong – and at the same time
minister to the emotional and spiritual needs of my congregation?”
Wightman did the best balancing act he could, and said today’s pastors
will have to do the same.
“Our pastors are in the trenches on this one as they try to be clear
with their convictions at the same time as they try to support the people
entrusted to their care,” he said. “They need our support and prayers.”
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